Our second stop on our driving tour was the Cholla
Garden, which is a location in the park where you're in the middle of what looks
like a forest of cholla cactus. There's a short interpretive trail that describes
the environment and how the cacti live.
Click on the link below to see the full
size image.
The particular variety in this area is called the Bigelow Cholla, and often called
the "Teddybear Cholla". However, I wouldn't recommend hugging one, as
you can see below.
This is a nest for a Kangaroo Rat, which lives in the desert. It uses the thorns
from the cholla as a way to defend it's burrow from predators.
This variety is called "Pencil Cholla", referring to the pencil-width
size. It has some nasty thorns.
